From the New York Times. In Shadow of Pandemic, U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Resurge to Record By Josh Katz, Abby Goodnough and Margot Sanger-Katz Drug deaths in America, which fell for the first time in 25 years in 2018, rose to record numbers in 2019 and are continuing to climb, a resurgence that is being complicated and perhaps worsened by the […]
News
988 to Be National Suicide Hotline
From CNN. FCC approves 988 to be 3-digit number for national suicide hotline starting in 2022 By Veronica Stracqualursi In two years, individuals in suicidal crisis seeking help will have a number that’s easy to remember and quick to dial to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. At its July open meeting Thursday, the Federal Communications […]
Pandemic’s Death Toll
From Time The Difficulty Of Counting the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Full Death Toll by Markian Hawryluk Sara Wittner had seemingly gotten her life back under control. After a December relapse in her battle with drug addiction, the 32-year-old completed a 30-day detox program and started taking a monthly injection to block her cravings for opioids. She […]
New Deadly Synthetic Opioid
From HealthDay ‘Iso,’ a Deadly New Synthetic Opioid, Has Hit American Streets by Dennis Thompson A new synthetic opioid as powerful as fentanyl is causing overdose deaths at an ever-increasing rate, experts warn. What’s worse, the designer drug is legal in most places in the United States. Isotonitazene — commonly referred to as “iso” […]
Treatment Centers Risk Closing
From NPR A New Addiction Crisis: Treatment Centers Face Financial Collapse by Yuki Noguchi Fewer patients in recent months have been showing up for drug and alcohol treatment at REACH Health Services in Baltimore. But Dr. Yngvild Olsen, the medical director there, suspects it’s not for good reasons: Some have likely relapsed or delayed drug and […]
MD Overdose Deaths Rise
From the Washington Post. Overdose deaths in Maryland climb amid pandemic, prompting new approach by Erin Cox After a year of declines, overdose deaths in Maryland climbed by 2.6 percent during the first three months of 2020 compared with the same period last year, preliminary data released this week shows. The reversal troubles public health officials, who suspect […]
Designer Opioid Not Yet Illegal
From USA Today New designer opioid linked to overdose deaths in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana by Terry DeMio A new synthetic opiate may be contributing to the addiction crisis, showing signs of penetrating new markets, according to those who have followed it. Isotonitazene has been detected in the blood of people who died of overdoses in Illinois and Indiana, […]
Don’t Forget About Us
Published by Medium on May 10, 2020 by Ryan Hampton. Original article can be found here. Don’t Forget About Us: People Still Need Addiction Care If we look up from what’s right in front of us — a global pandemic — we’ll remember that we’ve been battling a public health crisis for more than a decade. […]
SAMHSA Letter to Treatment Providers
The Effects of Vaping and COVID-19
From Get Smart About Drugs. Teens and Vaping The Effects of Vaping and COVID-19 Right now, because the illness is relatively new, there isn’t enough data showing a direct link between vaping (the use of an e-cigarette to inhale vapors from nicotine, marijuana or flavorings) and COVID-19. But here’s what we do know: Vaping (and […]